How can I send message to specific contact through WhatsApp from my android app?

Issue

I am developing an android app and I need to send a message to specific contact from WhatsApp. I tried this code:

Uri mUri = Uri.parse("smsto:+999999999");
Intent mIntent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_SENDTO, mUri);
mIntent.setPackage("com.whatsapp");
mIntent.putExtra("sms_body", "The text goes here");
mIntent.putExtra("chat",true);
startActivity(mIntent);

The problem is that the parameter "sms_body" is not received on WhatsApp, though the contact is selected.

Solution

Try using Intent.EXTRA_TEXT instead of sms_body as your extra key. Per WhatsApp's documentation, this is what you have to use.

An example from their website:

Intent sendIntent = new Intent();
sendIntent.setAction(Intent.ACTION_SEND);
sendIntent.putExtra(Intent.EXTRA_TEXT, "This is my text to send.");
sendIntent.setType("text/plain");
startActivity(sendIntent);

Their example uses Intent.ACTION_SEND instead of Intent.ACTION_SENDTO, so I'm not sure if WhatsApp even supports sending directly to a contact via the intent system. Some quick testing should let you determine that.

Answered By - Nathan Walters